By Rose Munsey-Kano

Japanese Street Life

Japanese city streets are very much like any American city streets. Busy, bustling, chaotic, and full of unique sights and sounds.

Japanese Tea Fields

The Japanese love tea. They drink it with almost every meal. Here is an example of one of their tea fields. This is where they grow the tea plant. Look at how expansive the fields are.

The Imperial Palace

The imperial palace is located in the center of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. The palace was destroyed during World War II, but built up again afterwards in the same style.

Bamboo Forests

This bamboo forest is a magnificently big forest made entirely up of, yes, bamboo. It is a big tourist attraction. Bamboo itself is just a fast growing grass that has woody stems. They're just very tall grasses.

Gardens are very popular in Japan. Japanese garden designers use the essential elements in their designs: water, stone, and plants. Water is believed to be the life-giving force; stone to be the “bones” of the landscape; plants to be the tapestry of the four seasons.

Japanese Gardens

Mount FujiMount Fuji is the largest

mountain in the Japanese Alps and all of Japan. Mount Fuji is 3776 meters. What most people don’t know is that Mount Fuji is actually a volcano. It’s last eruption occurred November 7, 1707. The highest temperature the top of Mount Fuji ever reaches is about 43oF in the late summer months. Usually the temperature is around 18-20oF.

Japanese Silk Screening

Silk screen paintings are a very popular form of artwork in Japan. It’s a very detailed art form. A lot of the time, when Japanese people have folding screens (dividers to separate rooms) in their home, they are silk screened. It’s a practical use of the beautiful art.

Made by Chiho Aoshima, 2004

Japanese Architecture

Japanese architecture is very stylized. Architects always think about pattern, design, surface texture, scale, proportion, and hierarchy. Most buildings in Japan, like the one to the right, are very grand and beautiful. A well-known Japanese architect trait are the sloped off roofs.

Japanese Writing

Japanese writing is very complex, and very beautiful. During the 4th century AD they developed their writing system, partially from their Chinese neighbors. Modern Japanese usually uses hiragana and katakana, but some kanji, too.

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is a very popular Japanese sport. It takes place on a “dohyo”, an elevated ring. Originally sumo wrestling was created to entertain the Shinto gods. The rules are this: the first wrestler to touch the ground with anything but the bottoms of his feet or exits the ring before his opponent loses.

Japanese Cities

This is a photograph of the cityscape of Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and it’s population is estimated to be over 12 million. That’s 10% of Japan’s population! Japan has many crowded, busy cities like Tokyo.

Sushi

Fish and rice are the two main ingredients in most Japanese diets. Japanese people have rice with practically every meal. Sushi is made with specially made rice, fish, and vegetables, and then rolled up in a seaweed wrap. Delicious!

Mochi

Another example of the Japanese diet. Mochi is a chewy patty that is entirely made up of rice!

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